You Decide – Claire McCaskill In Her Own Words

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You Decide – Claire McCaskill In Her Own Words

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – Sen. Clair McCaskill is running against MO Rep. Todd Akin for the Missouri Senate seat. See where your candidates stand on issues with no spin. The quotes below are statements Clair McCaskill has said on the record in her own words. Read her quotes and see what she has to say in the videos below.

In October 2011 Claire McCaskill admitted she did not pay more than $300,000 in Missouri property taxes on her $2 million airplane over four years.

Clair McCaskill said, “Well there is no question that this is a big, sloppy, stupid mistake. I found it and came forward and made sure that we paid the money. You asked how this happened. I assumed that it was being done appropriately; which was a mistake on my part. I should have never assumed that.”

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Gas prices are high and they seem to just keep going up. Clair McCaskill says she wants to eliminate special tax breaks oil companies get. McCaskill says the subsidy amounts to 38 billion dollars over a decade. This could raise gas prices. When asked about raising taxes on oil companies she had this to say, "They have the ability to reduce what they owe the government by special deals they have in the tax code. They get to deduct the royalties they pay other countries for drilling there from what they owe the United States of America."

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In February Pennsylvania Senator Toomey and Missouri Senator McCaskill introduced a bi-partisan bill to permanently end the practice of earmarking. Legislators often use earmarks to direct money to a project or organization in their home district. Earmarks are often been treated as the same as "pork barrel" legislation. They are not the same. The term can be subjective, one legislator's "pork" is anther's vital project. The Senate did not pass the bill but she held a press conference and said:

"To vote against a moratorium on earmarking right now would be a very dangerous vote. You know, one of those votes that tells the American people that Washington is out of touch."

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Clair McCaskill had this to say about people appearing in an attack ad running against her.

"I don't know if they're actors. I don't see them identifying themselves as Missourians."

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The people in the ad turned out to be voters from St. Charles. The Super PAC Americans for Prosperity paid $700,000 dollars to run the ads across Missouri.

"First I want to say how sorry I am to the Missourians. There evidently were some Missourians in the ad and I'm very sorry. I didn't know; I made an assumption that because all the money is secret and all the money is coming from out of state."

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Claire McCaskill voted to raise the federal debt limit last summer. A Pew/Washington Post poll stated that 2/3 of Republican voters were concerned that the debt limit would lead to more government spending. The study said a majority of democrats said that not raising the ceiling could force a default or hurt the economy. Thus is what Clair McCaskill had to say:

"I am just as frustrated with those on the left that say we can't touch any entitlement programs as I am with those on the right that say we can't touch any revenues. We need to do a little bit in both places."

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Clair McCaskill also spoke about the republican party trying to push Todd Akin out of the race for US Senator. "There are people in back rooms that are trying to invalidate the voters in the republican primary. It is my understanding from talking to people that congressman Akin is being threatened by the party leaders in Washington. Congressman Akin and I disagree on some things. But, he is sincere. While I disagree with what he said he is now in the last few hours apologized for what he said. What is startling to me is that these party big-wigs are coming down on him and saying that he wants to kick sand in the face of primary voters."